Remote Canadian community declares state of emergency after dozens of suicide attempts

A building in Attawapiskat, Ontario, Canada.

(Image credit: Twitter.com/MacleansMag)

published 11 April 2016

A state of emergency has been declared by the chief and council of the Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario, Canada, after a spate of suicide attempts within the community.

Chief Bruce Shisheesh said 11 people attempted to take their own lives on Saturday night, and since September, 101 people between ages 11 and 71 have tried to commit suicide. The remote community is home to about 2,000 people, and just four health care workers who do not have specialized mental health training have been trying to help those who are suicidal. Now that a state of emergency has been declared, additional resources, including a crisis team, are being sent by the Canadian and Ontario governments. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who called the situation "heartbreaking," tweeted that "we'll continue to work to improve living conditions for all indigenous peoples."

Shisheesh said a number of factors are behind the suicide attempts, including bullying, drug abuse, and overcrowding in homes. Local resident Jackie Hookimaw told The Canadian Press her 13-year-old grand niece, Sheridan, took her own life in October. She was bullied at school and had health problems, Hookimaw said, and after Sheridan's suicide, other kids tried to emulate her. "When a young person tries to commit suicide in any suburban school, they send in the resources, they send in the emergency team," says Charlie Angus, the local member of Parliament, who focuses on indigenous and northern affairs. "There's a standard protocol for response. The northern communities are left on their own. We don't have the mental health service dollars. We don't have the resources." On Monday, the Attawapiskat council will craft a strategic plan to combat the suicide epidemic.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.